


Not in the Finding but in the Searching

by whitefang (radialarch)



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: 221B Ficlet, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-10
Updated: 2012-03-10
Packaged: 2017-11-01 17:39:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/359519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/radialarch/pseuds/whitefang
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“They’re all pressing ‘til they’re solved,” says Sherlock.</p><p>John hums in agreement, but his thoughts are elsewhere.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not in the Finding but in the Searching

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Unsolved](https://archiveofourown.org/works/359020) by [aderyn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aderyn/pseuds/aderyn). 



> "Because the satisfaction of the solution might be 25% less satisfying than the satisfaction of not solving. Or not."
> 
> For mathematicians, for whom the answer may matter less than the existence of one.

“They’re all pressing ‘til they’re solved,” says Sherlock. 

John hums in agreement, but his thoughts are elsewhere. 

He remembers wild rooftop runs and Sherlock’s head lifted high before the scenting, the chase; the sight of delicate fingers tapping a wrist, lifting a twisted limb, and teasing out the strand of truth from all the might-have-beens; the gleam of a microscope, magnification clicking from forty to one hundred to four hundred ( _a focus that sharp, it becomes a weapon_ ); a voice sliding high to low and back, played with the infinite care of a virtuoso – bringing to life emotions much studied, but rarely worn.

Liquid oxygen and hydrogen lie inert in their tanks until they unite, an errant spark tearing apart old bonds to create new ones ( _energy, always searching for a new way downhill, a stable equilibrium_ ) – and then a rocket hisses, trembles, lifts, upwards and outwards in a perfect parabolic arc. (For every action, an equal and opposite reaction; for every Sherlock a John.)

 

 _The game is on_ , and Sherlock launches from his chair.

John marks the faint grin on Sherlock’s lips and knows what drives the man on in his Sisyphean quest. (There have been worse reasons; he’ll take what he can get.)

Not the solution itself, but the fact that a solution _exists_ is what ignites Sherlock’s blood.


End file.
